Chapter 1019: Imaginary Cut (Part 1)

Like all Phantoms, Adam endured many injuries. It was a constant part of every mission and battle he went on. If a Phantom wasn’t getting wounded, then he wasn’t fighting or moving forward.

Adam was alive, so none of the wounds proved fatal.

However, several times the situation was on the verge between life and death. Phantoms had strong bodies and high stamina, they could withstand dozens of cuts and bruises. Blood loss was important, but not as critical as for an ordinary human.

The same was true for the Phantom organs. The energy helped them survive the most crises.

Sure, without a heart or brain, a Phantom would not be able to continue fighting, but those were the only two critical points.

So if a Phantom was in the middle of a battle, the worst injury he could receive was the loss of one of his limbs.

If a Phantom lost an arm or leg, it was almost always the end of the battle for him. Without one limb, the Phantom would become much weaker and would no longer be able to stand up to his opponent.

One day, Adam lost his right arm. He gave it to the Essence Thunder Demon. It was his bargaining chip to destroy the Thunder Demon’s core and end their battle with his victory, bloody and painful.

But...

Now that he’d lost his left arm. It didn’t bring him any closer to victory. It wasn’t part of his plan or a strategic sacrifice to inflict the final strike.

Adam simply didn’t have time to dodge Arnoth’s attack. That’s it.

Oddly enough, no pain was felt by Adam, but that only made the situation worse. The pain didn’t reach him because his mind was filled with an endless stream of thoughts about his impending defeat.

What could he do against Arnoth?

Once Arnoth attacked one more time, it would be all over for Adam.

Thump.

Adam fell to one knee, holding tightly to his bleeding, open wound. Blood was streaming through the gaps in his fingers, while his pupils twitched in horror.

Then, something in his gaze changed.

’No, I can’t die in a pool of my own blood.’

Crackle.

He clutched his shoulder tightly, preventing the blood from flowing any further, though it only partially helped. Then, he directed his energy directly towards the wound, creating a dense white barrier.

Arnoth’s eyes went wide, he was amazed.

"Oh, I saw that. You reacted at the last moment, but it was already too late, right? You survived and still want to fight?"

"Hah..." Adam spat out a clot of blood, picking up his needle from the ground. "What else am I supposed to do? Just fall down and let you finish me off?"

After a few moments, Adam shook his head.

"Speaking your language - that would be disrespectful to you, wouldn’t it?"

Lost Light smiled weakly, hugging Arnoth’s chest tighter. "He’s someone we need... After you reap him, you should always remember this Phantom..."

Since Lost Light’s appearance, she spoke several times, but never opened her eyes or addressed Adam directly.

It alarmed him, but that wasn’t his main concern at the moment. He had to figure out what to do next.

How could he pierce Arnoth’s heart and end this fight with a victory even though he just lost his left arm and was weaker than Arnoth in every way?

Crackle. Crackle. Crackle.

At the same time, a rumbling noise caught Lone Blaze’s attention. She didn’t try to calm Moira down, it was useless, instead she watched the fifth gate intently.

As soon as Adam lost his arm and a lot of blood, debris fell away from the fifth gate, and the cracks became much larger.

Moreover, the Stellar Flow was moving freely forward through the cracks, heading straight to the Evolution Tree. However, it was only a tiny fraction of its true power, less than 1%.

As long as the fifth orb was in the center of the fifth gate as its seal, Adam could not receive the new power, nor could he receive all the energy from the Stellar Flow.

Someone had to destroy the fifth orb.

All the previous ones, Adam did himself. It was his job because this was his world.

But... how could he do it in the middle of a battle?

Whooooooooooooosh.

Adam lunged forward, aiming his dark blade at Arnoth.

Slowly, Arnoth clutched the dark blade, easily destroying it with the power of his light. An attack that could seriously injure Kreyna couldn’t leave even a scratch on Arnoth’s palm, at least not while he had his energy and Lost Light’s power.

"Adam, it’s no use. You can try all you want, but the outcome will be the same."

Under Arnoth’s powerful voice, golden streams traveled towards his body as he took a step forward.

Adam’s pupils narrowed. He saw this move several times and knew how dangerous Arnoth was.

But, there was nothing he could do.

"GHA!!!" Adam spat out a mouthful of blood as Arnoth’s fist plunged into his stomach.

The golden pulse receded in a ring as the impact threw Adam aside.

Another trail of blood followed him along with the growing cracks in his fifth gate.

The Stellar Flow struck time after time, aiming straight for the fifth orb, but it was useless without Adam, who was struggling to stay on his feet.

’Fuck... I don’t know what’s going on, but I got a little more energy...’ Adam thought, rising from the ground. ’Although... Damn, that’s definitely what Silvana’s doing.’

"Hey..." Adam wheezed, turning to Silvana. "You should stop expending so much energy. At this rate, you’ll pass out."

Silvana, unaware of what was happening, gulped. ’But, Adam, I gave you as much energy as I could until a few minutes ago. And... Your arm. I’m afraid I couldn’t fix it even with the Pain Transition.’

"Don’t think about it too much. I just need to figure out how to defeat it and that’s all... Nothing I haven’t done before."

There was no reply since Silvana didn’t know what to say.

How could Adam defeat Arnoth? It seemed impossible.

Clap.

Arnoth folded his hands together, creating a tiny star between his palms.

All of his energy was channeled into a single point, causing a bright flash that rippled throughout the Fallen Ring Castle.

The serpents froze in place, they forgot how to breathe from the deep, ancient fear that awakened in them at the sight of Arnoth’s full power.

"Do it..." Lost Light whispered. "Give this young man all of yourself... Release his noble soul from his body..."

Feeling that there was no way Adam could dodge this attack, Silvana quickly channeled all the energy from her Evolution Sprout directly into Adam’s Evolution Tree.

"Wait!

Adam felt it.

’Silvana, you have to stop or you’ll just-!’

Thump.

Before he could say anything, Silvana’s eyes went blank as she crashed on the table. With words, she couldn’t help him, so she decided to give it all she had. Something that could affect the outcome of the battle.

Arnoth’s expression grew more serious while the golden light illuminated his face.

"You have a worthy partner, Adam. I’m sorry I have to separate you forever. But, she will remember you, you can be sure of that."

Then, Arnoth spread his arms out to the sides, extending the star into a wide ring. It spun rapidly, casting sparks all around.

"Go ahead, this is something we have to do together." Arnoth pointed his hand forward as Lost Light came into motion. Her gentle hands wrapped around his powerful forearm, moving to his wrist.

Adam’s breath caught as he watched the countless golden symbols moving from the ring edge, heading toward the center in a spiral.

"No!" Adam released the blade of darkness, but it broke into shards, crashing into the golden ring.

Now, it was obvious to Adam.

If he wanted to stop Arnoth, to destroy the golden ring before the symbols got to the center, he had to call upon the path again.

But, as soon as he tried to do so he realized that without his left hand he couldn’t even grip his needle tightly.

’This can’t be... There must be some way out!’ his eyes darted around, watching the rapidly growing symbols.

A few more seconds and Arnoth’s attack would be ready. He realized it wasn’t something he could dodge.

’Shit! I’ll do it at any cost!’ Adam inwardly exclaimed as all his energy from the Evolution Tree headed towards the needle.

However, once the first ripples resembling the path appeared, everything in front of Adam’s eyes blurred.

He collapsed to the ground, out of his last strength, remaining conscious.

"Adam... You keep trying, but you’re at your limit... I can see it..."

Arnoth’s voice, like a death sentence, echoed through the castle with just the two of them.

"Your blood, your energy, and even your life on the border... Just a little more and it will all be over. The only thing you have left is your will to win, yet that’s not enough."

A trickle of blood flowed from the corner of Adam’s mouth, the aftermath of his last failed attempt.

Then, the golden light from the glowing symbols reflected in his eyes.

Arnoth was about to attack. Only a few seconds left and his and Lost Light’s decision.

Crackle. Crackle. Crackle.

Following Adam’s wounds, debris crashed from the fifth gate, but the Stellar Flow could go no further.

The fifth orb shone brightly - all it took was a little pressure to break it.

At the same moment, Silvana opened her eyes.

But what she saw before her was not the screens from Adam’s NEP cameras, but a badly damaged fifth gate and a shaking orb.